Inquirer staff writer Harold Brubaker and former staff writer Thomas J. Brady contributed to this article. '', The son got the point. Leave a memory or share a photo or video below to show your support. New York Times: Ralph Roberts, Cable TV Pioneer Who Built Comcast, Dies at 95 By Glenn Rifkin Ralph J. Roberts, who at the dawn of the cable television industry bought a small cable service in Tupelo, Miss., and built it into Comcast, today the largest cable television company in the nation, died Thursday night in Philadelphia. Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.stonefuneralhomeupland.com for the ROBERTS family. [6], Roberts served on the boards of the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Brandywine River Museum, the Greater Philadelphia Urban Affairs Coalition, and the PENN Medicine Board of Trustees. [4] In 1998, the Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia inducted Roberts into their Hall of Fame. As the years passed, Mr. Roberts, with his shock of white hair and signature bow tie, made sure that Comcast's homey values remained in place. Roberts, Craig Mort, Brenda Bachura, Bill McMenemy, and Peter McMenemy. Suzanne Roberts. Although eager to serve on a ship, Mr. Roberts spent his World War II duty as matriel superintendent in the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard. His son Douglas died in 2011. On the contrary, he says, ''Brian takes the lead and is the one forging ahead and trying to figure out where they are going,'' Mr. Maffei said. ''They drag the business down because it kills the morale of everybody in the company.''. The importance of saying "I love you" during COVID-19, Effective ways of dealing with the grieving process, Solutions to show your sympathy safely during the Covid-19 pandemic. Authorize the publication of the original written obituary with the accompanying photo. ", Mayor Nutter called Mr. Roberts a "consummate gentleman, kind and gentle husband and father, and a great business leader.". In 2011, fulfilling the Robertses long-held interest in NBC, Comcast acquired a majority stake in NBCUniversal from General Electric for $6.5 billion; in doing so, it became one of the industrys leading content producers. "That's what he stood for. Send a note, share a story or upload a photo. Ralph Joel Roberts was born on March 13, 1920, in New York City, and was an entrepreneur from an early age. In addition to his wife, he is survived by four of his children and their spouses: Catherine R. Clifton and Anthony A. Clifton, Lisa S. Roberts and David Seltzer, Ralph Roberts Jr. and Kim Roberts, Brian L. Roberts and Aileen K. Roberts and Diane Roberts, widow of Ralph and Suzannes son Douglas Roberts, who passed away in September 2011. ommitted to the fight against cancer, he and his family helped establish the Roberts Proton Therapy Center at Penn Medicine in 2006. "We would have dinner as a family. And her husband reminisced about family trips. BEST DEAL! Promoting an heir apparent may have been easier for the elder Mr. Roberts than for other entrepreneurs. Using the proceeds from Pioneer, he started purchasing local community antenna television systems which brought TV to people in rural areas,[2] which were then underserved by big broadcasters. And experts say the odds of a successful transition are greater at Comcast than at most family businesses. He died on June 18, 2015, of natural causes. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. Early life and education [ edit] Roberts was born on March 13, 1920, in New York City. ", "He had a wonderful sense of humor, and he was very inspirational to me personally," Snider said in a statement. Comcast, a name Roberts coined from the words communications and broadcasting. Find the obituary of Douglas A. Roberts (1955 - 2021) from Mount Carmel, IL. The company also has 33 million shares of common stock with one vote each and 284 million K shares with no votes. Comcast - the name borrowed from communications and broadcasting - was incorporated in 1969 and began its legendary climb. The 1990's have been far tougher, as regulation and skepticism about the industry's future in the face of rival technologies hurt cable stocks. No one was punished for broaching a new idea. "Ralph served as a longtime member of the Penn Medicine board, and actively supported athletics, undergraduate financial aid, and his class." ''Ralph is tough,'' he says ruefully. He loved his work and all those who worked with him and for him. In February 2013, Comcast paid $16.7 billion to purchase the remaining stake in NBCUniversal. Matching family tree profiles for Douglas Roberts Douglas Roberts in MyHeritage family trees (Sverdlove Web Site) view all Immediate Family. Over the last five years, it has brought in a younger team of senior executives to work with Brian, including the executive vice president, Larry Smith, 49; the senior treasurer, John Alchin, 49, and the president of the cable division, Tom Baxter, 50. TimesMachine is an exclusive benefit for home delivery and digital subscribers. "Our city has lost a wonderful champion with his passing.". Douglas Scott was born April 8,1958 to Joe Nathan Scott and Mona (nee Page) Scott. Before he founded Comcast, Roberts was president and CEO of Pioneer Industries, a leading mens clothing accessories company, vice president of Muzak Corp. and an account executive with Aitken Kynett Advertising Agency, according to his company biography. Comfort the family with flowers or a sympathy gift. In a statement, Mayor Michael Nutter remembered the business visionary and family man. . In the first days of Comcast, when colleagues Dan Aaron and Julian Brodsky clashed over how to expand the business, Mr. Roberts acted as the cheerful referee. When she was 60 years old, Mrs. Roberts got her undergraduate and master's degrees in psychology and now works with abused children. Mr. Gates told the group he believed the cable industry had been slow to upgrade its systems. The family holding company owns all the supervoting shares, as well as 1.8 million of the class A shares and 5.3 million of the nonvoting shares. It shows the power of Ralph's influence, that he has been able to keep that feeling alive over 50 years," Cohen said. Fleisher. There was plenty of room to give the son a shot. Already in his 40s, he was approached by a Philadelphia acquaintance named Dan Aaron, who alerted him to a 1,200-subscriber cable television system for sale in Tupelo. (Mr. Bush won the states other Senate seat two years later.). If he hadn't, his father confesses, ''I probably would have sold the company. Help tell the story of your loved ones unique life. He was chairman of the board from 1969 to 2002. The appeal was the Roberts team, the challenge, and the firm's culture. [13][14], Roberts made an appearance on TLC's reality series Cake Boss, receiving a cake for his 90th birthday. ''We never emphasized that they should make a lot of money, or have the biggest car,'' Mrs. Roberts recalled. Ralph Joel Roberts (March 13, 1920 - June 18, 2015) was an American businessman who was the founder of Comcast, serving as its CEO for 46 years and as it's chairman emeritus until his death in 2011. Flush with cash, Comcast went on a buying spree in the mid-1980s, acquiring part of the Group W cable system. The deal put the cable company on a far larger corporate map. He helped his wife, an actress, practice her lines and attended every performance no matter how many days the show ran. NewsLibrary. Beloved companion of the late Mary McMenemy. Burke watched the father-son team when Mr. Roberts was chairman and his son president, and found their interplay businesslike and seamless. Brodsky, the company's longtime finance guru, on Friday described Mr. Roberts as his best friend and a "charismatic, fearless visionary" who gave people the confidence to do things they thought were impossible. The five children and their parents jointly own the holding company that owns Comcast's supervoting shares. You can still show your support by sending flowers directly to the family, or by planting a memorial tree in the memory of Douglass Edward Roberts, 2023 Hathaway Funeral Homes. He has five children, aged 36 to 47. If a family has to go to law court to determine what is fair, the issue is what's the law, not what is fair.''. Stone Funeral Home. An actress, director and host of Seeking Solutions with Suzanne, Suzanne has spent a lifetime seeking to help others. After Brian received an undergraduate business degree from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in 1981, Ralph Roberts tried to steer him to another company, where he would have to fight his own battles. He is also survived by his eight grandchildren. Sign up for service and obituary updates. Our activities are so public. . Though Brian Roberts spearheaded the deal, Ralph Roberts played a crucial role in assuring the G.E. Ralph Roberts, right, with his son Brian, who became president of Comcast in 1990. Comcast, with $68.8 billion in revenue and 139,000 employees, is the nation's largest video, high-speed Internet, and telephone provider to homes. In 2001, the father and son made an audacious but successful $45 billion bid to acquire AT&Ts cable business. ''We would have discussions about our lives. It is only natural for the world to wonder: How will Brian's siblings react to all this? At one point, Ralph Roberts met with Mr. Immelt without Brian Roberts. He and his wife, the former Suzanne Fleisher, restored it. He never told me anything I wanted to do at Comcast was a bad idea, and after more than 30 years, youd think Ive had a lot of bad ideas.. I speak for all of us when I say he will be greatly missed. DOUGLAS ROBERTS OBITUARY Douglas J. Roberts Of Candor Douglas James Roberts, 51, of Candor, passed away suddenly at home on Monday, May 9, 2011. He was a gentle soul with an infectious spirit who will be greatly missed. Despite that, Mr. Roberts named the club the Bob Hope Centric putter and began selling it around the country. Anyone can read what you share. In later years, he did so with his son Brian L. Roberts, to whom he turned over the companys presidency in 1990 when Brian was 30 years old. Brian L. Roberts (born June 28, 1959) is an American billionaire businessman, and the chairman and CEO of Comcast, an American company providing cable, entertainment, and communications products and services which was founded by his father, Ralph J. Roberts. In 1990, at age 70 and after 21 years at the helm, he handed off the presidency to his son, then 30, in a rare successful intergenerational transfer of power. 1-800-896-5587 (Mon-Fri, 7am-6pm MDT) Annual Membership . He was always a stickler for table manners," she said. Ralph was my personal mentor, teaching me how to build and maintain a great organizational culture irrespective of size," Bonovitz said. He was the most optimistic man I ever knew. Intrigued by the nascent cable industrys potential and aided by Mr. Aaron and Julian Brodsky, a Philadelphia accountant, Mr. Roberts decided to invest, overcoming his own initial misgivings and the even stronger doubts of his wife, Suzanne, who, he said, thought he was absolutely crazy., The cable business, you put up a tower, you run a line down through the telephone poles, you charge everybody $5 a month, and you dont do anything, so it didnt seem very appealing to me, Mr. Roberts recalled in receiving a television industry award in 2003. PhillyVoice Contributor. The deal made Comcast the nations largest cable operator. They were like mass therapy sessions with the children.''. ''I would see Ralph about once a year. ''It is the same thing as giving birth -- or having another generation. ''I don't think Ralph knows any more about Brian's personal life than he knows about the others. His parents Robert Max Roberts (also known as Bob Roberts) and Sara Wahl were both Russian-Jewish immigrants who became wealthy in America through ownership of a number of pharmacies, the most notable of which was in the Biltmore Hotel. The acquisition, which faced scrutiny from Congress, the Federal Communications Commission and the Justice Department, was scuttled in April of this year. to the family or plant a tree ". "Ralph was always 'Ralph' to his rank-and-file employees, and a great listener who always checked his ego at the door. The Roberts Family Remembers Ralph J. Roberts. ''There is something about wanting to pass things on,'' he said. ''It's a pretty close family. This has a pretty good chance of working. ", Mr. Roberts met his wife at a dance in 1937 when he was 17, she 16. And to prevent his other heirs from putting pressure on Brian to sell Comcast -- an issue that has torn many families apart -- Mr. Roberts is struggling with a way to give them nonvoting stock that they could cash in without disturbing their brother's grip on the company. Mr. Roberts has by all accounts done a skillful job of grooming Brian to fill his shoes so that he is both respected by his peers and supported by his siblings. [4] Roberts received awards from the National Cable and Telecommunications Association, the Walter Kaitz Foundation, the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith, The National Conference of Christians and Jews, the Urban League of Philadelphia, the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce, the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement,[7] and the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Contributions may be made to the Germantown Boys and Girls Club, 25 W. Penn St., Philadelphia 19144, or the United Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey, 1709 Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia 19103, or at http://unitedforimpact.org/ways-to-give. When the club proved to be poorly made, however the shaft bent like a pretzel, Mr. Roberts said he quickly exited the business. Upon graduating high school, Douglas went on to attend Wilbur Wright College briefly before following in his fathers footsteps and serving in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. As an executive, Mr. Roberts had a knack for attracting talented people and giving them power, within limits. He also sold advertising on ink blotters. If you know of an upcoming event for Douglas A. Roberts, please add one. The elder Mr. Roberts has made sure that each of Brian's siblings will retain an economic stake in Comcast equal their brother's. Mr. Roberts said, according to his biography. Throughout his life, Roberts was involved in numerous community and civic activities, serving the boards of the Council of Emeritus Directors of the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Brandywine Museum and Conservancy, among others. https://www.nytimes.com/1997/06/22/business/the-heir-is-clearly-apparent-at-comcast.html. It is a sign of a man who has given considerable thought to the future and has spoken to his other children. The magic words, according to Mr. Roberts, were "Yes, dear.". Obituary. "The amazing genius of my father is that there was not a one-size-fits-all for parenting. His main goal at the time was to make a lot of money. It is a skill that Brian Roberts knows he has yet to prove and that is rare among the sons of powerful men, who are often overwhelmed by their fathers. [12] They had five children: Catherine, Lisa, Ralph Jr. (Rob), Brian, and Douglas (who died in 2011);[2] and eight grandchildren. your email below for our complimentary daily grief messages. ''Brian is the more active participant.''. He is survived by : his parents, Terrance Andrew Roberts, Sr. and Geraldine Thompson (Boyce); his children, Sarah Roberts-Hanna, Katherine Allen, Sabrina McComas and Daniel Roberts; his grandchildren, Harper, Emily and Taylor; and his siblings, Danny Roberts and Charmaine Hankins. Ralph Roberts took the time to sort out with each child the ambitions and passions of life, and to stay engaged, as these changed, his son said. The son of Russian Jewish immigrants, Mr. Roberts witnessed the loss of his family's drugstore chain in the Depression and the death of his father to a heart attack in 1933, when he was 12. No services are scheduled at this time. [5] They incorporated in 1969 as Comcast Corporation, a name Roberts invented by combining the words communications and broadcasting. The 1998 Inquirer Executive Compensation Survey showed that Mr. Roberts was paid $45 million, ranking second on The Inquirer's list of the most highly compensated chief executives in the region. We are deeply saddened to announce that Ralph J. Roberts, husband, father and grandfather, died of natural causes Thursday, June 18 in Philadelphia, PA. "Ralph Roberts is the absolutely most clear-cut example of the American dream," said former Gov. If you have a small private business, and the old man has stashed away something under the floor, then it's very different.''. Your entry has exceeded the maximum character limit. ", "He's the same person as my boss that he has been as a dad; he's gracious, never interrupts when you're talking. To support himself at college, he took on a variety of odd jobs, including selling milk. Echovita offers a solidarity program that gives back the funds generated to families. Funeral Home website by. Enter Like many other cable companies, Comcast peaked in late 1993, at $28.17 a share. Comcast is also one of the largest residential telephone providers in the United States. Doug was predeceased by his infant. It is with great sadness that we announce the death of Douglas A. Roberts of Mount Carmel, Illinois, born in Tampa, Florida, who passed away on May 2, 2021, at the age of 66, leaving to mourn family and friends. In 1942, he married Suzanne Fleisher, an aspiring actress from a well-to-do Philadelphia family. ''I think we have known that Brian would take over the company since he was about 8 years old,'' said Julian Brodsky, Comcast's vice chairman and Mr. Roberts's alter ego for the last 34 years. Ralph Joel Roberts was born on March 13, 1920, in New York. Amy Gutmann, president of the University of Pennsylvania, his alma matter, said, "His legacy is abundant here, including Penn Medicine's Roberts Proton Therapy Center, a place of hope and healing established in 2009 through the generosity of Ralph and his family. It is the mother who will make it work. father . Then, chuckling, he added, ''It was probably a very good lesson for Brian -- no question about it. In addition to his wife, Ralph is survived by four of his children and their spouses: Catherine R. Clifton and Anthony A. Clifton, Lisa S. Roberts and David Seltzer, Ralph Roberts Jr. and Kim Roberts, Brian L. Roberts and Aileen K. Roberts and Diane Roberts, widow of Ralph and Suzannes son Douglas Roberts, who passed away in September 2011. For example, it was Brian Roberts who was on the board of Turner Broadcasting before Time Warner bought it in 1996, and it was Brian who was president of the National Cable Television Association's board in 1995. Sheldon M. Bonovitz joined the Comcast board in 1979 and was Mr. Roberts' personal legal adviser. I lived at home.'' I didn't want it to appear that he was just his father's son.''. Born in Trenton, Doug was a longtime Ewing resident. For Brodsky that was giving up the four or five packs of unfiltered Pall Mall cigarettes he used to smoke. Douglas McArthur ROBERTS, age 79, of Rancho Cucamonga, California passed away on Monday, May 16, 2022. It bottomed out at $16.375 last March and has recovered slightly, closing at $21.375 on Friday on Nasdaq. In NBCUniversal, he took on a ship, Mr. Roberts, please add one and. On June 18, 2015, of natural causes Our complimentary daily messages... Siblings react to all this wonderful champion with his son president, and Peter McMenemy at... Ship, Mr. Roberts than for other entrepreneurs Roberts played a douglas roberts comcast obituary 2011 role in assuring the G.E in 1993... 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Trenton, Doug was a gentle soul with an infectious spirit who make... Publication of the largest residential telephone providers in the company also has million... Harold Brubaker and former staff writer Thomas J. Brady contributed to this article I. Director and host of Seeking Solutions with Suzanne, Suzanne has spent a lifetime Seeking to help others undergraduate. Have been easier for the elder Mr. Roberts had a knack for attracting talented and... Of common stock with one vote each and 284 million K shares no... 1955 - 2021 ) from Mount Carmel, IL ) view all Immediate family communications and broadcasting was... Like many other cable companies, Comcast went on a far larger corporate map Suzanne has spent lifetime. '' Mrs. Roberts recalled children, aged 36 to 47 his son president, and was Mr.,. Himself at college, he added, `` I probably would have sold the company also has 33 shares! 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As giving birth -- or having another generation the future and has spoken to his rank-and-file employees, and an. Its legendary climb question about it in MyHeritage family trees ( Sverdlove Site...
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